The Six of Wands in Tarot: Meaning, Upright and Reversed

In brief: number, name and keywords

The Six of Wands follows the melee of the Five: the tension has been resolved and someone is recognised. It is the card of public success, of pride and of regained confidence. It is traditionally read as a victory, or as the moment when effort is seen and celebrated.

It is called Six of Wands in the Rider-Waite-Smith deck and carries the same name in both traditions.

Keywords: recognition, success, pride, confidence, triumphant return, visibility.

The image in the Rider-Waite-Smith deck

In the Rider-Waite-Smith deck, a horseman crowned with laurel rides a white horse decorated in green. He holds a staff topped with a laurel wreath. Around him, several men on foot each carry a staff and look up towards him.

The background is light and open, with no precise setting. A crowd accompanies him, staves raised like a guard of honour: this is the procession of the return.

• The laurel wreath: in ancient Rome, the honour of the victorious general. It is earned; here it sits both on the head and on the staff.
• The white horse: a victory carried with nobility; in many traditions, white evokes purity of intention.
• The men on foot: those who support, but also those who watch. Success is read in the eyes of others.
• A single rider: recognition is aimed at one person, with the risk of isolating them at the top.

In the Tarot de Marseille

In the Tarot de Marseille, the Six of Wands is a card of pips: six staves, arranged in two rows of three or in crossed groups, with leaves or flowers between them. No figure. Symmetry suggests balance, a harmony achieved. Some readers link this regularity to the meaning of six, the number of agreement between two triads, and read in it a collective rather than an individual success.

Upright meaning

Upright, the Six of Wands traditionally evokes a success that is recognised: an exam, a project praised, a promotion, a moment when you are seen. It is also read as the self-confidence that returns after a period of rivalry or doubt.

The card invites you to welcome recognition without shutting yourself inside it: the horseman is carried by others, he does not win alone. In a reading, it can also invite you to thank those who helped.

Reversed: different schools

School 1: the opposite or the excess. Reversed, the Six of Wands is read as recognition that is delayed, a pride that comes before a fall, a victory that rings hollow, or a need for applause. The horse stumbles.

School 2: the block or held-back energy. In this reading, glory is uncertain or fragile: you wait to be recognised, or fear not being recognised. The card invites you to ask what you are really seeking: the result, or the regard of others.

Some readers only use the upright meaning: this is an equally valid choice.

Correspondences (Golden Dawn) and numerology

According to the Golden Dawn, the Six of Wands corresponds to Jupiter in the second decan of Leo: the abundance and recognition of Jupiter add to the pride of a fire sign. These attributions come from nineteenth-century English occultism and are not universal.

In traditional numerology, 6 is the number of harmony: two triangles, balance between above and below, exchange. On the Tree of Life, Tiphereth is the central sphere, that of beauty and balance. Among the Wands, effort finds its reward. The Sixes of the deck share this climate of accord, explored on the page about the Sixes in tarot. The Major Arcana card numbered 6, The Lovers, is its cousin: alliance and choice.

Possible readings and questions for reflection

Tarot does not say what will happen: it offers images to think with. Here is what the card may evoke, symbolically, depending on your question.

• Personal reflection: realising that you have progressed and allowing yourself to acknowledge it. Possible question: what am I proud of?
• Relationships: being supported by a group, regaining your place, being valued. The card speaks of a positive gaze, without guaranteeing it.
• Work: recognition of an effort, success of a project, visibility. Symbolically a stage of reward.
• Money: recognition of the value of your skills. It predicts no gain.

Questions to ask yourself:

• What have I accomplished without anyone seeing it, and how can I acknowledge it myself?
• Who has carried me this far, and have I thanked them?
• Do I need recognition, or can I be content with having done well?

Combinations with neighbouring cards

A card is rarely read on its own. A few simple pairings, as starting points:

• The Five of Wands: the conflict is resolved through recognition of a value or an effort.
• The Seven of Wands: after the victory, the need to hold one’s position.
• The Chariot: two cards of momentum and victory; a direction held and recognised.
• The Sun: luminous success and confidence; to be kept without vanity.

To practise: the three-card spread; for the whole picture: the guide to the Minor Arcana.

Beginner mistakes

• Reading the card as a guaranteed victory: it shows a moment of recognition, not a result secured for ever.
• Forgetting the men on foot: success is often collective.
• Confusing pride with arrogance: the card invites you to carry your achievement without turning it into a throne.

Exercise

Write a list of three achievements from the past twelve months, however modest. Next to each one, note who helped you. Choose one person to thank this week, with a message or a gesture. It is a concrete way of living the image of the procession: recognition is something to share.

Frequently asked questions

Also read

The meanings mentioned belong to tradition and symbolism. They are neither promises of results nor medical advice. Back to Guide to the Minor Arcana.